KUAF, Local Public Radio Station, Selected as Report for America Newsroom for 2022
FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – KUAF, local National Public Radio affiliate for Northwest and Western Arkansas, has been selected as a 2022 Report for America partner newsroom. Report for America is an initiative of The GroundTruth Project and functions similarly to the PeaceCorps or AmeriCorps — working with local news organizations to close gaps in local news reporting by assisting those organizations with hiring and retaining journalists. Through this partnership, a new reporter position will be created for KUAF to cover the explosive growth of the area and that growth’s impact on the daily life of its residents.
KUAF is among 70 new Report for America host newsroom partners for 2022. Recognizing the gap in coverage of the impacts of the growth of Northwest Arkansas, KUAF was selected for its proposal for a new reporter position to cover the economic, environmental, arts and cultural and affordable housing impact of this growth, particularly as it pertains to the major corporate employers in the region. Reporting on this growth and its impact will also include reporting on rural residents’ access to healthcare, education, housing, infrastructure and more.
Report for America is a two-year program (with an option for three years) that delivers a wide-range of benefits to its journalist corps members. Beyond paying up to half of the journalists’ salaries, it provides ongoing training and mentorship by leading journalists, peer networking, and memberships to select professional organizations. To help connect corps members to the community, they are required to do a service project, which often includes engaging middle or high school students in journalism related activities.
Information about how journalists can apply to be members of the reporting corps can be found here. Applications are being accepted until Jan. 31; however, those who apply before Dec. 31 will receive early consideration. Corps members will be selected from a highly competitive, national competition. Last year, more than 1,800 applications were received. Those hired become employees of their respective newsrooms and will begin their employment June 1, 2022. The opening of this new journalism position with KUAF will open soon after the new year.
“We are very excited to create this new position and to begin covering how the growth of our area affects the daily lives of Arkansans here — from long-time residents to those new to the area. We hope this reporting will highlight the myriad changes that are happening across our listening area, from rural areas to those with exploding populations,” said Kyle Kellams, KUAF news director.
The selections were made on the basis of which newsrooms defined the most compelling gaps in coverage and plans to deploy corps members well. In 2022, Report for America will expand into more rural communities, to reach areas hardest-hit by newsroom closures, as well as expanding Spanish-speaking positions, helping newsrooms reach the growing Latino population in their communities. There’s increased demand for coverage of the environment and many of the beats — nearly 40% — will cover communities of color, meeting a continued demand from newsrooms to provide more equitable coverage.
With KUAF, other 2022 Report for America newsrooms chosen include daily and weekly newspapers, digital-only news outlets, radio and television stations.
“Make no mistake, the greatest threat to democracy is the collapse of local news,” said Charles Sennott, GroundTruth chief executive officer and co-founder of Report for America. “We are excited to welcome these newsrooms and look forward to empowering them to meet the growing information needs of the communities they serve.”
To learn more about Report for America, visit www.reportforamerica.org.
About Report for America: Report for America is a national service program that places talented emerging journalists in local newsrooms to report on under-covered topics and communities. Launched in 2017, Report for America is creating a new, sustainable system that provides Americans with the information they need to improve their communities, hold powerful institutions accountable, and rebuild trust in the media. Report for America is an initiative of The GroundTruth Project, an award-winning nonprofit journalism organization with an established track record of training and supporting teams of emerging journalists around the world, including the recent launch of Report for the World in partnership with local newsrooms in India, Nigeria and Brazil.
This story also appeared in the University of Arkansas News publication.